Exercise Your Temple and

Lay Aside Your Weight

By Marquita Chanel

Lady Wooten, a young 71 year old, Wife of a Bishop, mother of two teenage daughters, International Evangelist, fitness instructor, and philanthropist makes her health a top priority.

Lady Wooten’s fitness journey started 20 years ago when she was 200 pounds, 400 cholesterol count, and had other health issues. Lady Wooten said, “If you are unhealthy, it cuts off your life, you can’t enjoy life, you can’t even shout long enough without getting out of breath! You have to have strength to do ministry and walk the streets to talk about Jesus.” For these reasons and more, she decided that she needed a change and wanted to live a long life. She took several steps to improve her health. Lady Wooten said she did a little at a time. She started working out for 10 minutes, then 15-20 minutes, and eventually gaining the endurance to go for 30 minutes! Lady Wooten worked out by herself while using exercise tapes such as “Walk Away the Pounds” and “Taebo”. Lady Wooten wanted to step it up a notch, so she hired a personal trainer. She was able to get down to 154 pounds and everyone wanted to know how!

With all the buzz about her weight loss, Lady Wooten decided to host a class, 3 days a week, at the Bishop Wooten Family Life Center. Thirty minutes of the class was dedicated to fitness and the remaining time was for wellness training. She even brought in doctors and nutritionists to educate the class on wellness habits. She also recommends the Mediterranean diet, drinking 6-8 glasses of water per day, taking vitamins, and going to annual health screenings and check-ups. She encourages people to develop a healthy lifestyle, not using fads and quick fixes, but being consistent on their health journey. 

At her church, Williams Temple COGIC, she started a Biggest Loser Competition and those that lost the most weight would receive $500. There were also monetary rewards for second and third place. At one time St. Louis was known as the biggest city in the nation regarding obesity. The program gained national and international attention. There was a Faith and Fitness Challenge where churches participated in a weight loss competition. The winning church’s Pastor and First Lady would be flown to The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) to be interviewed by Paul and Jan Crouch. Out of all the participating churches, Williams Temple lost the most weight and won the competition! How awesome is that?

After winning the competition Lady Wooten didn’t stop there! She made it her personal business to help any and every one that needed help losing weight. She knew a young preacher that was between 500 and 600 pounds, it had such an impact on him that he cried about in the pulpit. She reached out to him and said, “If you don’t do something about this, you will die.” She knew he needed 1-on-1 training, so she paid for him to have a personal trainer for 6 months. Within one month he lost 30lbs! Sometimes we just need someone to push us and encourage us. In fact, Lady Wooten encourages everyone to get up and move! No matter how old you are or how much you weigh, you can do something to get yourself to a better place of health. You simply have to be faithful and commit to the process. Lady Wooten shared with me that in 2009 she had both knees replaced, three months apart. She said, “If I can do it, you can too! No excuses!” 

During the pandemic Lady Wooten noticed how people became couch potatoes and gained weight. Being the go getter that she is, she decided to do something about it! She started an online exercise class on Facebook. The class is called “Exercise Your Temple, Lay Aside Your Weight.” On her first live she got 3k hits! Her audience is not just here in St. Louis but across the nation. This is not an ordinary fitness class! Lady Wooten wrote a theme song and hired Jesse Prather to put it to music. She said that her patrons tell her that they hear the song in their sleep! The song includes scriptures in the lyrics and positive affirmations. It’s a constant motivator. Her song is even played on WESL and KSTL radio stations for all to enjoy! In addition to the motivating song, those that attend the class wear the T-shirts she designed, use the water bottles, and even masks decorated with her logo. The class is designed to accommodate people of all ages. In fact, her teenage daughters teach the class if she is not able to attend, it is truly a family affair! The exercises are low impact so anyone can participate. Patrons are also encouraged to go at their own pace and never feel like they need to keep up with everyone else. 

Lady Wooten is also an evangelist. She uses this class as a tool to bring others to Christ. She uses every opportunity to witness to people and invite them to church. She has a saying, “The church is where everybody is somebody and Christ is all.” She believes in the power of prayer and fasting and how it can change your entire life physically and spiritually. She also ministers to the masses on her Facebook page under Shirley Adkins Wooten where she prays and shares weekly inspirational messages. 

The following were Lady Wooten’s parting words, “God is not pleased when we abuse our bodies. Your body is a temple, present your body as a living sacrifice.” 

It was a pleasure interviewing Lady Wooten and after hearing her story I am truly encouraged to step up my fitness game! I hope you have been encouraged as well!

If you would like to participate in her online class, follow her Facebook Page, Shirley Adkins Wooten. 

If you would like to purchase the shirts, CDs, DVDs, masks, and water bottles, visit her website WWW. LadyShirleyWooten.com. Proceeds go towards the EMWI African Orphanage Ministry, a ministry was started by Bishop and Lady Wooten in 2006.

Lady Wooten is also hosting a community outreach health event, August 19-21, 2022.

This three-day event will include:  Information and recipes for healthy eating and healthy foods Educational classes, literature, tips from personal trainers and medical advisors

A run/walk event with fun, music, and prizes. Please visit www.LadyShirleyWooten.com for further details.